John mcmulmot



l. McMULLEN. JOURNAL BOX PACKING RETAINER,

APPLlCATION FILED JULY 5. 1917.

Patented May 20, 1919.

Fig 1 INVENTOR.

J0krz MC Mullen 1% J Magm- ATT NEY JOHN MOMULLEN, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK.

J'OURNAL-B OX-PAGKING RETAINER.

' Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 20, 1919.

7 Application filed m 5, 1917. Serial No. 178,662.

To all whom. it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN MGMULLEN, a

citizen of the United States, residing at- Buffalo, in the county of Erie and State of drawings, forming a part of this specifica tion.

This invention relates to improvements in journal box packing retainers,

It is the common practice in the operat on of railway cars, to pack the journals wlth oil-soaked waste in such a manner that the waste extendsnot only beneath the journal but also over the end of the journal to a level approximately slightly below the lower edge of the opening closed by the 11d. This practice oftentimes results in the packing or waste getting in between the lid and the journal box proper, thus preventlng the proper closing of the lid and permitting the entrance of dirt and other foreign matter while the train is, in motion. Not only this, but the packing which extends over the end of the journal serves no useful purpose and represents an unnecessary expense, the amount ofpacking thus serving no useful purpose approximating about two pounds, under actual operating condltions.

The object of my invention is to provide a simple, inexpensive, retainer for holdlng the packing required beneath the ournal, thus doing away with the necessity. of any packing at the end of the journal and effecting a material saving in the cost of packing and operation of cars.

Another and more specific object of the invention is to provide a retainer for the purpose specified, which retainer will exert a yielding pressure against the packlng, the

retainer being attached to the lid of thejournal box and shiftable with the latter from operative position when the lid 1s closed, to an inoperative position, to thereby permit the inspector to have ready access to the packing for the purpose of either replacing it or poking it as is commonly done.

The invention furthermore consists in the improvements in the parts and devices and the novel combination of the parts and devices, as herein shown, described and claimed.

In the drawing forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 is a vertical, sectional view of a journal box and associated parts showing my improvement in connection therewith, the journal box, lid, bearing, dust guard, etc., being of well known construction. And Fig. 2 is a vertical, transverse sectional view, taken substantially on the line 22 of Fig. l.

In said drawing, 10 denotes. a journal box of well known form having side walls ll 11, bottom wall 12 and upwardly curved lower front wall 13. The lid 14 is pivotally connected to the box 10 as by pivot pin 15 and the lid is adapted to be held in either closed or open position by a plate spring 16 which cooperates with a lug 17 in a well known manner. Within the box is pro vided the usual rocker 18, brass 19 and dust guard 20 which surrounds the journal';21. The journal is packed with oil-soaked waste or packing material 22 on the under side thereof, as clearly illustrated in the drawmg. i

Forthe purpose of maintaining the pack provided my improved packing retainer,

designated generally by the reference A. Said retainer A, as shown, is formed of spring wire and is of substantially U-shape, as viewed in Fig. 2. The retainer comprises a pair of spaced parallel vertically extending arm-s 23-23 and an intermediate crimped portion 24. At their upper ends, the arms 23 are provided with an in-turned extension 25 each of which fits within a curled portion 26 formed, on an outwardly extending flange 27 of a clip 28 riveted or otherwise rigidly secured to the inner side of the lid 14. The crimped portion 24 which is formed by bending the wire alternately upwardly and downwardly, as clearly illus trated in Fig. 2. to thereby provide a relatively wide bearing surface against the end of the packing 22, is oifset inwardly at substantially right angles to the plane defined by the arms 23, as will appear from Fig. 1, said arms 23 being provided with a curved portion 29 to effect this result. As will be noted from an inspection of Fig. 1, the curved portions 29 bear against the inner face of the curved wall 13 of the journal box when the parts are in normal or operative position.

As will be clear from the drawing, the

crimped intermediate portion 24 of the retainer is disposed below the collar 30 on the end of the journal when the parts are in operative position. When the inspector desires to examine the interior of the'journal box, he swings the lid 14 to open pos1t1on 1n the usual manner and during this operat on, It is apparent that the retainer A W111 be raised due to the fact that the pivotal connection between the portions 24 and 25 will swing in an are about the-pivot pin 15. Consequently, the crimped portion of the retainer will be elevated to a position clear of the packing so that the inspector hasready access to the packing. In this connection, attention is also directed to the fact that the arms 2? are spaced sufliciently apart to revent any mterference with the insertion 0 any tool by the'mspector. When the lid is returned to closed po sition, it is apparent that the retainer A'wlll be forced downwardly and the bent corner portions 29 will slide down the curved wall 13 and thereby force the crimped section 24 into engagement with thepackmg and under spring tension. Furthermore, it W111 be observed that the connection between the retainer A proper and the clips 28 is in a connection with the clips 28 and the samemay be replaced or removed with a minimum of effort.

With the arrangement hereinbefore described, it is obvious that a materialsaving in the amount of waste required is effected; the packing which is employed is effectively held in its proper place; ready access is ermitted to the waste whenever the li is opened; and furthermore, the proper circulation of air within the journal box is in no way interfered with.

Although I have herein shown and described what I now consider the preferred embodiment of my invention, the same is merely illustrative, and I contemplate all changes and modifications that come within the scope of the claims appended hereto.

I claim:

1. The'combination with a journal box having an inner curved face at the lower outer end thereof and a lid pivotally connected at its top to the box, of a. packing retainer adjustably attached to said lid at points substantially verticall below the piv-' otal connection between the id and box and packing when the lid is closed and movable to an inoperative position when the lid is opened to permit ready access to the packing beneath the journal, the lower portion of said retainer engaging said curved face of the box when the lid is moved to closed position to thereby force the lower portion of the retainer against the packing.

2. The combination with a journal box having a lid, of a packing retainer formed from flexible wire bent to proper form, said retainer, When in operative position, having engagement with the lower portion of the front wall of the journal box whereby the retainer is held under tension in engagement with the packin 3. As an artic e of manufacture, a packing retainer, said retainer comprising a wire having a pair of spaced arms and an intermediate crimped connectin portion.

4. As an article of manu acture, a packing retainer, said retainer comprising a wire having a pair of spaced arms and an intermediate crimped connecting portion, said crimped portion being oflset at substantially right angles to the plane defined by said arms.

5. The combination with a journal box having a lid pivotally connected thereto, of a packing retainer attached to said lid and .movable therewith from inoperative positionv when the lid is open to an operative position when the lid is closed, said retainer being pivotally connected to the lid substantially vertically below the pivotal connection between the lid and the box to thereby prevent the retainer exerting an outward pressure on the lid.

6. The combination with a journal box having a lid pivotally connected thereto, of a packing retainer adapted to press against the packing beneath a journal within the box, said retainer comprlsing a wire bent to proper shape, said retainer bearing against the lower front wall of the box when in operative position.

7. The combination with a journal box having a lid pivotally connected thereto, of a packing retainer ivotally connected to said lid and at a point beneath the pivotal connection between the lid and box, said retainer comprising a wire bent to general U-sh-ape, the arms of the U being connected by an intermediate crimped portion inwardly offset from the plane defined by said arms, the retainer having engagement with the inner face of the lower front wall of the box when in operative position.

In witness that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto subscribed my name this 13th day of June, 1917.

JOHN MQMULLEN. 

